After a two-year dress rehearsal Vienna unveils its brand new football program

by Jim Muir 

Following the 2006 school year then-59-year-old Mike Rude retired as principal at Washington Grade School in Johnston City and at the same time tendered his resignation as the highly successful football coach at Johnston City High School, a position he had held for 16 years.

Despite his retirement and his decision to leave an established program where he compiled a 111-53 (.677 winning percentage), won six Black Diamond Conference titles and led the Indians to the playoff 12 times in 16 years Rude was certainly not ready for a rocking chair.

Instead, the Christopher native undertook the mammoth task of starting a football program from scratch at Vienna High School. In fact, the last time that Vienna played high school football was 1931. As an historical measuring stick — Franklin Roosevelt was president of the United States, the nation was right in the middle of the Great Depression, gas cost 10 cents a gallon and a brand new Chevrolet cost $600. In short, it’s been a long, long time.

Those that know Rude know the answer to ‘why’ he would embark on such a grueling task after his retirement. But, for those who don’t know the longtime coach the answer to that question can be summed up in one word – passion.

“Football is what I do every day of the year and what I love,” said Rude. “There is not a single day that goes by, and I mean seven days a week, 365 days a year, that I don’t work on something football-related.”

Shortly after his retirement Rude met with Vienna officials and the groundwork was laid to start the program. The initial plan – a plan that has been followed to the letter – was designed for the program to be open to freshmen and sophomore players and for Vienna to play an eleven-game freshman schedule in 2007 with a team made up of both freshmen and sophomore players.

Also during the 2007 season the Eagles played a four-game sophomore schedule. During the 2008 season freshmen and sophomores played a separate nine-game schedule each. Now, at the outset of the 2009 season Vienna is set to join the Black Diamond Conference taking the place of Cairo who disbanded football prior to the start of the 2006 season. During the first two years the Eagles played all road games.

Perhaps as an omen of things to come with the newest team in the BDC, the inaugural 2007 team finished with a 9-2 mark. In 2008 the Vienna freshmen team went 4-4 while the JV squad went 5-1. Overall, since the program began Vienna has a combined mark of 18-7.

Rude said three key elements were established in that first year when the program was launched.

“First of all we won games,” Rude said. “Also, we had good numbers to start with and the kids stayed out, we started with 31 players and we finished with 31. And we didn’t have any major injuries, which I think was really a plus.”

In making his point about how important those three things were in launching the program Rude looked at it from the opposite perspective.

“There were people that were skeptical about how much success we would have and then when we won it just really drove the stake in the ground that we were there for good,” said Rude. “We started with 31 players and if we would have finished with 22 or 23 players and maybe had a major injury like a broken leg or neck injury it would have made it very difficult. Those three things were just huge for us in getting the program off the ground.”

Rude said his first practice gave him a quick lesson in the size of the task in front of him.

“First of all, we had no facilities so we really didn’t have a place to practice and I’ve never been an athletic director so I’ve never had to order equipment,” Rude said. “Right down to the very basics, we didn’t have anything. We’ve had to order everything from knee pads to helmets to game jerseys and footballs. Then you think about the volunteers involved and the coaching staff, it’s been a huge undertaking.”

Vienna Athletic Director Ross Hill said the “planets aligned” and created a perfect start to the program back in 2007. Hill listed a $350,000 grant that enabled the school to purchase equipment, Cairo dropping out of the BDC which paved the way for Vienna to immediately join the BDC and have a full schedule and the hiring of Rude as key elements in getting started on the right note.

“It just all snowballed in a very positive way,” said Hill. “All the other schools were so helpful giving us games right off. Everything just fell into place and then on top of that the community really has supported us. It’s really just been amazing what has taken place here in only two years.”

Of all those events that fell into place Hill said landing Rude to start the program was the key element.

“Not just anybody could do what Mike has been able to accomplish,” said Hill. “For us to land a hall of fame coach was just incredible. The system he’s put in place and his leadership has just been huge.”

Hill said another major obstacle that is still being cleared is construction of a playing facility. Property was purchased near Interstate 24 and is nearing completion, Hill said, adding that former superintendent Marleis Trover and current superintendent Terry Moreland both embraced the project.

Hill said seeing the start of the football program through to completion is extra important to him because his dad played on the very last Vienna High School team back in 1931.

“Overall, everybody in every aspect has just done a tremendous job,” said Hill. “I’m getting close to retirement age and this is really a dream-come-true to see this program get off the ground.”

Rude said he also realized in those early days that there was a communication problem with his players.

“I got in the car to drive home after that first practice and I realized that I had to reevaluate where things were at because I realized immediately that they were not nearly as far along as I thought they might be,” said Rude. “We were working on some defensive and secondary stuff and I said ‘I need a wingback, a flanker and a slotback over here’ and nobody moved. It dawned on me that they didn’t have any idea what I was talking about. We’ve had to begin with very basic things.”

A 1966 graduate of Christopher High School and a 1970 graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Rude began his coaching career at tiny Wyanet High School in central Illinois where he stayed two years.

“They (Wyanet) had lost 26 in a row when I got there and I helped them get it to 34 in a row. We did go 3-5 my second year there. I stayed there long enough to find out that I didn’t know as much as I thought I did.”

From there Rude spent five years at Kankakee Bishop McNamara as an assistant coach before moving back to Southern Illinois to coach at Anna-Jonesboro where he stayed from 1977-1981. Rude then coached at Marion from 1982 to 1991 and at Johnston City from 1992 to 2006.

Despite the 18-7 overall mark registered thus far Rude said he is trying to prepare this year’s team about the difference in playing at the freshmen and sophomore level as compared to varsity football.

“That’s a real concern for me right now,” said Rude. “I’m having a hard time making them understand how much the game is going to speed up at the varsity level. There is no way to assimilate that in practice. When we take the field on August 29 our entire team will have never played in a varsity game and there will be a big difference. It’s something we’re just going to have to learn on the fly.”

During his long tenure at Johnston City Rude dusted out the archives and revived the old single-wing offense and has brought the same offensive scheme to Vienna.

“They’ve picked it up very well,” said Rude.

Rude said he has a wide range of emotions as he enters the final weeks of practice in preparation for the season opener against Hamilton County, a Saturday afternoon game on August 29. He said as a way to show his team what’s in store, he has also been a frequent visitor to the IHSA website where he has compiled the records of other teams in recent years that started a new football program from scratch.

“There’s Manteno, Metro East Lutheran, Bunker Hill, Trenton-Wesclin and a couple others that started new programs like this and I print out what these teams did in their first years when they went 0-9, 0-9, 1-8, 2-7, 2-7,” said Rude. “Nobody has started from scratch and won right off the bat. I want them to get in their heads that we can’t put the expectations so high that they think it’s a complete failure if we don’t win at the varsity level immediately.”

Certainly winning will be a focus but Rude also said building a program that will remain on solid ground is equally as important.

“I want to build the foundation here for this football program,” Rude said. “And then when the time comes for me to quit coaching football pass it on to good hands. Building a solid foundation here is important to me.”

Rude also gave high marks to those two classes back in 2007 that launched the first teams at Vienna. The freshmen are now sophomores and the sophomores make up this years’ senior class.

“Those kids came out and stuck with us,” Rude said. “Many of them made the decision to play football instead of other fall sports. They’ll always be remembered as the ones who got the program going.”

While Rude notes that he is experiencing a wide range of emotions these days the veteran coach said the primary feeling he has as he prepares to start his 38th year of coaching is “anticipation.”

“I’m chomping at the bit,” said Rude. “I can’t wait to get started.”